For hard brown sugar, wet a paper towel, wrap it around the sugar and in a few hours or less, it will be soft.
By Ginny
An easy way to soften brown sugar is to simply place it in the microwave for a few seconds! (Not long enough to melt it of course, just to soften it)
By Aneita
Place a piece of bread in with the brown sugar and it will soften, in a few hours.
By Chelsey
When finding my brown sugar had gotten hard and not wanting to toss it I put some in the freezer. When I need some to make cookies I decided to microwave it. It turned out fine. It seemed to work better after being frozen. I now freeze my brown sugar once it starts getting hard.
By RoseMary B. from Texas Creek, CO
I chop it up in the food processor if it has gotten hard.
By Ed
This page contains the following solutions.
I use a small glass to press down brown sugar in my measuring cup. You could use a jelly glass also. I got these 5 oz measuring glasses at Walmart for about $1 each (made in the U.S.A.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How many cups are in a 1lb bag of brown sugar?
Abear from LA
It's simple math, 1 cup = 8 oz., 2 cups = 16 oz. I'm referring to brown sugar that isn't packed.
You can't compare 8 ounces liquid measure to 8 ounces of weight. Everything you put in an 8 oz liquid measuring cup will weigh something different.
Brown sugar is sold by weight, not volume (like honey), so one cup will not be 8 ounces like most things.
Hi Abear
I believe it is sold by weight. I'm not very sure on cup measurements.
Oh by the way...I sure wish you would come back to visit us at family corner. We miss you lots. Don't know if you remember me or not. You are from my hometown.
2 1/2 Cups of brown sugar packed = 1 pound
2.3 cups of sugar per pound
A 2lb bag lists 226 teaspoon servings per bag. Just convert that into cups and you find that 1 lb of brown sugar is 2.3541667 cups. Just round that to 2 and 1/3 cups and you got it!
There are approximately 2 1/4 cups of packed brown sugar in 1 lb of brown sugar. It doubles for 2 lbs.
There are approximately 2 1/4 cups of packed brown sugar in 1 lb of brown sugar. It doubles for 2 lbs.
When a recipe calls for 'packed brown sugar' what is this? We have ordinary brown sugar and treacle sugar here in South Africa. I'm not sure what the 'packed' is.
"Smoosh" the brown sugar down in the measuring cup with the bottom of a large spoon.
It means packed vs. loose. For it to be the correct amount you don't want to be able to shake the sugar in the measuring cup.
Is your brown sugar the dry (natural) kind or the moist kind? When they are referring to packed brown sugar, they mean the moist kind that is pressed tightly into a measuring cup so that there are no air pockets when measuring.
If you are using dry brown (or white) sugar, to make the equivilent of 1 cup of the moist, brown sugar take 1 cup of dry sugar and add 4T. of molasses to it (or the recipe) to get the right flavor and the extra moisture that the recipe needs.
Packed brown sugar is regular brown sugar that you must push all the way down and keep adding and pushing till you get the measurement needed. HTH
It just means you need to measure accurately without gaps and air pockets.
What ever unit of measure you are using,(cup, spoon, etc.) it should be "packed" in firmly. It should keep the shape of the utensil when you tap it out to use.
Can you use brown sugar instead of white?
By PW
You can use brown sugar in place of white. Just be aware that it may change the color and taste of the dish slightly. For example, cookies will be a darker color when baked.
Brown sugar is moister, too, so you might want just a little less water or milk.
I sub brown sugar for white sugar as much as possible! It makes your baked goods have such a deeper, richer taste due to the molasses but it will make the color darker.
What do I use to spread brown sugar evenly?
By Bud from Quincy, IL
Difficult to answer your question as we are not sure exactly why you are spreading brown sugar, on what surface (cake, cookies, candy etc.), using the brown sugar dry or wet, what tool you have tried so far, etc.
I just sprinkle it with my hand.
Hard brown sugar can be softened with a piece of apple in the closed container or by heating it in the microwave. This is a page about softening brown sugar.
This page tells how to make your own brown sugar at home. You can easily make your own brown sugar by adding 2 tablespoons of molasses to 1 cup of granulated sugar.
Brown sugar can actually cures wounds and bruises. If you have been lately in an accident, like falling from a bicycles or falling from trees, and you get bruises and wounds, you can immediately apply brown sugar.
Brown sugar is a great pantry staple to have on hand but it can get hard if not stored properly. An airtight container is a must and many people store a piece of bread to absorb excess moisture.
Brown sugar frequently turns into a hard lump in the container. Here are some great tips for keeping it soft. This is a page about keeping brown sugar soft.
